Dispensing opener for canned milk



K. D. CARROLL 3,033,415

May 8, 1962 DISPENSING OPENER FOR CANNED MILK Filed Sept. 30, 1960 W YE! INVENTOR. Aff/m/zre fl. Gamma.

BY M

United States Patent F 3,033,415 DISPENSING OPENER FOR CANNED MILK Kenneth D. Carroll, Delta, Utah Filed Sept. 30, 1960, Ser. No. 59,536 1 Claim. (Cl. 220-51) This invention relates to dispensing type openers for cans containing milk and is primarily concerned with providing such an opener that offers greater convenience in use and is plug-proof. Known devices of this type tend to become plugged with milk left in the opening after a pouring operation and dried to a thick film by continued exposure to the atmosphere.

An outstanding feature of my new device is the mounting of can-puncturing members on one arm of a lever pivotally secured to a clamp which is arranged to resiliently or otherwise clamp over the top of a can of evaporated milk and provide a handle for manipulating the can as a pitcher. The pivotal mounting of the lever on the clamp provides a fulcrum, and the other of the lever arms projects into manipulative position with respect to the handle portion of the clamp to enable the user to exert pressure thereon and to raise the aforesaid one arm of the lever from can-puncturing and content-pouring position during a pouring operation.

A specific embodiment, representing what is presently regarded as the best mode of carrying out the invention, is illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 represents a top plan view of my device as applied to a can of evaporated milk;

FIG. 2, a view in elevation looking from the left in FIG. 1, portions of the can being broken away for convenience of illustration;

FIG. 3, a view in elevation looking from the front in FIG. 1, the lower portion of the can being broken away for convenience of illustration;

FIG. 4, a view corresponding to that of FIG. 2 but looking from the right in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5, a view corresponding to that of FIG. 3 but taken during a pouring operation; and

FIG. 6, a bottom plan view of the device apart from the can.

Referring to the drawing:

In its illustrated form, the clamp portion of the device is fabricated from stiff wire or thin bar stock to provide an elongate and narrow loop configuration having a body portion 10a adapted to dramatically span the top of a can of milk 11, a depending jaw member 10b at one end of the body portion, and a second depending jaw member 10c at the other end of the body portion, the latter jaw member being shaped as a handle for grasping by the user in manipulating the can as a pitcher, see FIG. 5.

The lever 12 extends longitudinally of the clamp 10, being pivotally secured thereto in a transverse axis located at one end of the body portion 10a near the handle 100.

As illustrated, such lever 12 is a fiat strip of metal ordinarily stee1stamped to provide a bend 12a which marks the fulcrum and divides the lever into a long lever arm 12b and a short lever arm 120. It is pivotally secured to clamp 10 by means of a pivot shaft 13, which bridges the loop formation and is secured thereto in any suitable manner, preferably by welding. A relatively narrow strip portion 12d of the lever 12 is punched inwardly of the angle formed at the bend 12a between the two lever arms, so as to bridge such bend and provide a pivot loop through which shaft 13 extends.

3,033,415 Patented May 8, 1962 The two ends 10-1 of the wire or bar forming'the clamp loop 10 are desirably brought together inwardly of the handle-forming jaw member 10c, as shown in FIG. 6, and the pivot shaft 13 extended beyond the respective lateral sides of the body portion 10a in the form of mutually spaced, depending legs 130, respectively, for engaging the side of the can and stabilizing the resilient grip of the clamp thereon.

Can piercing prongs 14 and 15 are stamped from the metal of long lever arm 12b to depend from such lever arm in mutually spaced relationship. They stand constantly ready to puncture the top of a milk can, such as the one illustrated at 11, when the device is applied to the can and the user presses forcibly downwardly directly on such long lever arm.

Having once punctured the top of the can, the long lever arm 12b seats flush against such top between the loop members which form body portion 10a of clamp 10, see FIG. 3. This is the normal position between periods of pouring milk from the can. While the pouring opening pierced in the can by forward prong 14 is not completely closed by such prong when the device is in this normal non-pouring position, as is the vent opening pierced by rearward prong 15, it is substantially so. No further closing is normally necessary for storage of the can in a refrigerator.

The device is left clamped in place so long as there is any milk remaining in the can. The combination of can and device is placed on the table as a pitcher from which milk may be poured as desired. It is only' necessary for the user to grasp the handle 10c, push down short lever arm 12c with the thumb of the hand grasping the handle, lift and tilt the can as shown in FIG. 5, and pour. Release of lever arm will permit long lever arm 12b to fall back into place as a closure for the holes pierced in the can. In so doing, prongs 14 and 15 will break any milk film which is left over the pierced openings, thereby positively preventing plugging.

It should of course be realized that the device may be fabricated in like manner for use on cans other than those containing evaporated milk.

Whereas there is here illustrated and described a certain preferred construction which I presently regard as the best mode of carrying out my invention, it should be understood that various changes may be made without departing from the inventive concepts particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed here below.

I claim:

A device for opening and dispensing contents from a can, comprising a clamp formed from a single length of wire bent to loop configuration so as to span the top of a can and resiliently clamp against the sides thereof, said clamp including an elongate body portion adapted to overlie said top of the can, a jaw member projecting downwardly from one end of said body portion for engaging one side of the can, and a second jaw member projecting downwardly from the other end of said body portion for engaging the opposite side of the can, said second jaw member being formed as a handle to be grasped for manipulating the can and the clamp together, as a pitcher; a lever of the class one type pivotally mounted on said clamp so that one arm thereof extends along said body portion and the other arm projects into manipulative position with respect'to said handle; a shaft formed of an independent length of material extending transversely of and secured to said clamp adjacent to the handle end of said body portion, with its ends turned downwardly and projecting beyond said body portion at opposite lateral sides thereof as stabilizing legs for engaging the can laterally of said second jaw member, said shaft serving to pivotally mount said lever; and means depending from said one arm of the lever for piercing the top of the can when pressure is applied to said one arm, said other arm of the lever being operative by manual manipulation from said handle to move the lever above its pivot axis for lifting said one arm away from the top of the can to enable pouring of contents from the can, said stabilizing legs serving to resist forward displacement of the device during puncturing of a can.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

